Self-Assessment and EFL Literature Students' Oral Reproduction of Short Stories

Abstract

The purpose of the current study is to investigate self-assessment as a helpful strategy for facilitating teaching and learning in language classrooms and to investigate the effects of this technique on EFL learners' oral performance. To achieve the purpose of the study and answer the research questions, a quasi-experimental study was conducted. The participants of the study were a group of five EFL learners who were called self-assessment. The self-assessment technique was incorporated to this group. There were a pretest and posttest sessions and four sessions of treatment between the pretest and posttest. The instruments used in this study were storyboards and checklists. The data was collected via a recording device and then it was transcribed for further analysis. Paired sample T-test was used to analyze the quantitative data and for the qualitative analysis, the data on the checklist and students' self-assessment reports were used. The data on the checklist also helped to find the extent to which learners have improved in fluency in their own ideas through self-assessment. The findings of the present study showed self-assessment was helpful in improving Error free clause (p = 0.031) meaning self-assessment group made significant improvement in this feature. Considering the three other features, the comparison of pre- and posttest scores also showed a significant difference which approved effectiveness of the related treatment. The qualitative analysis of the students' selfassessment report also revealed that students found it as a helpful technique to monitor themselves and reflect on their own work.